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If few voters under the age of 40 remember the Cold War or IRA terrorism, even fewer will recall “A Very British Coup”, the Channel 4 political drama based on former Labour MP Chris Mullin’s novel of the same name.

It tells the unlikely (at time of writing) tale of Harry Perkins, a left wing firebrand elected unexpectedly as Prime Minister in a Labour landslide. Beset by enemies within the British establishment, Perkins nevertheless advances his agenda of nuclear disarmament and economic restructuring, helped by a massive loan from the Soviet Union. Despite his likeability, sympathetic romantic backstory and northern accent, however, Perkins’ ambitions are ultimately frustrated.